Alert archive / North Carolina / Tornado Warnings in 1994
Tornado Warning 16, NWS Blacksburg, VA
NWS Blacksburg, VA issued this tornado warning at Aug 16, 1994, 8:03 PM EDT for Stokes County, North Carolina. It was in force for 27 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Aug 16, 1994, 8:03 PM EDT (00:03 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 16, 1994, 8:30 PM EDT
- In force
- 27 min
- Issued by
- NWS Blacksburg, VA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Stokes County, NC
The nearest sounding before it
Greensboro/Hi Pt, NC (KGSO), launched 00:00Z, 0.1 hours before the alert went out and 47 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1105 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -2 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 648 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 44 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 141 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 219 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.6
- Supercell composite
- 5.6
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KGSO 170012 COR TORGSO NCC169-170030- BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED TORNADO WARNING...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENSBORO NC 803 PM EDT TUE AUG 16 1994 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENSBORO HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 830 PM EDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION... IN NORTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA ...WESTERN STOKES COUNTY AT 800 PM EDT THE STOKES COUNTY SHERIFF DEPARTMENT REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUD NEAR KING IN THE SOUTHWESTERN PART OF THE COUNTY. THE THUNDERSTORM PRODUCING THIS FUNNEL CLOUD WAS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH AT 25 MPH AND WILL AFFECT COMMUNITIES IN THE SAURATOWN MOUNTAIN AREA BY 815 PM... AND WILL MOVE INTO THE NORTHWESTERN PART OF THE COUNTY...NEAR THE SURRY COUNTY BORDER...BY 830 PM EDT. TORNADOES IN THE SOUTH ARE HARD TO SEE BECAUSE OF RAIN...LOW CLOUDS...AND TREES. TAKE COVER NOW...DO NOT TRY TO WAIT ON THE STORM AND DO NOT TRY TO OUTRUN IT. ...CORRECTED FOR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS... SR &
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Aug 16, 2:33 PM EDT, 5 hours 30 minutes before
VAC009-019-031-515-590-680-143-162130- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LYNCHBURG VA 233 PM EDT TUE AUG 16 1994 ...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 AM WED AUG 17... AT 225 PM WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWS A WIDESPREAD AREA OF LIGHT RAIN AND A FEW SHOWERS. MOST OF THE RAIN IS IN NORTHERN BEDFORD AND NEARLY ALL OF AMHERST COUNTIES. A COUPLE OF SHOWERS IN NORTHERN CAMPBELL COUNTY NEAR RUSTBURG BEING THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL. RAINFALL AMOUNTS FOR THE PAST SIX HOURS AT LYNCHBURG HAVE BEEN JUST OVER ONE HALF AN INCH (.60). RAINFALL AMOUNTS FOR THE AREA ARE NOT ENOUGH YET TO WORRY ABOUT FLOODING YET THIS COULD CHANGE AS THE REMAINS OF TROPICAL STORM BERYL MOVE THROUGH THE MID ATLANTIC STATES OVERNIGHT. PEOPLE IN LOW LYING AREAS SHOULD CLOSELY MONITOR WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR FURTHER UPDATES. DEVAULT NNNN
Special weather statement, Aug 16, 2:33 PM EDT, 5 hours 30 minutes before
VAC009-019-031-515-590-680-143-162130- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LYNCHBURG VA 233 PM EDT TUE AUG 16 1994 ...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 AM WED AUG 17... AT 225 PM WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWS A WIDESPREAD AREA OF LIGHT RAIN AND A FEW SHOWERS. MOST OF THE RAIN IS IN NORTHERN BEDFORD AND NEARLY ALL OF AMHERST COUNTIES. A COUPLE OF SHOWERS IN NORTHERN CAMPBELL COUNTY NEAR RUSTBURG BEING THE HEAVIEST RAINFALL. RAINFALL AMOUNTS FOR THE PAST SIX HOURS AT LYNCHBURG HAVE BEEN JUST OVER ONE HALF AN INCH (.60). RAINFALL AMOUNTS FOR THE AREA ARE NOT ENOUGH YET TO WORRY ABOUT FLOODING YET THIS COULD CHANGE AS THE REMAINS OF TROPICAL STORM BERYL MOVE THROUGH THE MID ATLANTIC STATES OVERNIGHT. PEOPLE IN LOW LYING AREAS SHOULD CLOSELY MONITOR WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR FURTHER UPDATES. DEVAULT NNNN
Special weather statement, Aug 16, 7:26 PM EDT, 37 minutes before
VAC590-780-083-143-170130- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LYNCHBURG VA 726 PM EDT TUE AUG 16 1994 ...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 8PM WED AUG 17... AT 715PM WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED A CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO SOUTHERN HALIFAX AND PITTSYLVANIA COUNTIES. THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE INDICATING HEAVY DOWNPOURS... GUSTY WINDS...AND POSSIBLE SMALL HAIL. NO REPORTS AT THIS TIME OF ANY DAMAGE ASSOCIATED WITH THESE STORMS. PEOPLE IN THE AREA SHOULD BE AWARE OF ANY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR FURTHER UPDATES. DEVAULT NNNN
Special weather statement, Aug 16, 7:26 PM EDT, 37 minutes before
VAC590-780-083-143-170130- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LYNCHBURG VA 726 PM EDT TUE AUG 16 1994 ...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 8PM WED AUG 17... AT 715PM WEATHER SERVICE RADAR SHOWED A CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO SOUTHERN HALIFAX AND PITTSYLVANIA COUNTIES. THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE INDICATING HEAVY DOWNPOURS... GUSTY WINDS...AND POSSIBLE SMALL HAIL. NO REPORTS AT THIS TIME OF ANY DAMAGE ASSOCIATED WITH THESE STORMS. PEOPLE IN THE AREA SHOULD BE AWARE OF ANY CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR FURTHER UPDATES. DEVAULT NNNN
Special weather statement, Aug 16, 7:40 PM EDT, 23 minutes before
VAZ012-015-016-017-022-032-033-044-170145- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ROANOKE VIRGINIA 740 PM EDT TUE AUG 16 1994 ...TORNADO WATCH ISSUED COVERS PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST AND SOUTHSIDE VIRGINIA... AT 735 PM EDT...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES AND INDEPENDENT CITIES...GRAYSON...WYTHE... CARROLL...PATRICK...FLOYD...HENRY. THE CITIES INCLUDED IN THE TORNADO WATCH ARE GALAX AND MARTINSVILLE. THE TORNADO WATCH IS EFFECT FROM 800 PM THIS EVENING UNTIL 400 AM WEDNESDAY MORNING. TROPICAL MOISTURE CONTINUES TO SURGE NORTHWARD FROM THE CAROLINAS AND INTO SOUTHERN VIRGINIA. THUNDERSTORMS TO OUR SOUTH HAS PRODUCED TORNADIC ACTIVITY ACROSS THE PIEDMONT REGION OF NORTH CAROLINA WITHIN THE PAST COUPLE OF HOURS. IF SEVERE OR TORNADIC THUNDERSTORMS APPROACH YOUR AREA GO TO SAFE SHELTER AND WAIT TILL THE STORM PASSES OUT OF YOUR VICINITY. THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF SOUTHWEST...WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA UNTIL WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL MEDIA OUTLET FOR POSSIBLE WARNINGS AND FURTHER UPDATES THIS EVENING. CACCIAPAGLIA
Special weather statement, Aug 16, 7:41 PM EDT, 22 minutes before
VAZ012-015-016-017-022-032-033-044-170145- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ROANOKE VIRGINIA 740 PM EDT TUE AUG 16 1994 ...TORNADO WATCH ISSUED COVERS PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST AND SOUTHSIDE VIRGINIA... AT 735 PM EDT...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES AND INDEPENDENT CITIES...GRAYSON...WYTHE... CARROLL...PATRICK...FLOYD...HENRY. THE CITIES INCLUDED IN THE TORNADO WATCH ARE GALAX AND MARTINSVILLE. THE TORNADO WATCH IS EFFECT FROM 800 PM THIS EVENING UNTIL 400 AM WEDNESDAY MORNING. TROPICAL MOISTURE CONTINUES TO SURGE NORTHWARD FROM THE CAROLINAS AND INTO SOUTHERN VIRGINIA. THUNDERSTORMS TO OUR SOUTH HAS PRODUCED TORNADIC ACTIVITY ACROSS THE PIEDMONT REGION OF NORTH CAROLINA WITHIN THE PAST COUPLE OF HOURS. IF SEVERE OR TORNADIC THUNDERSTORMS APPROACH YOUR AREA GO TO SAFE SHELTER AND WAIT TILL THE STORM PASSES OUT OF YOUR VICINITY. THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF SOUTHWEST...WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA UNTIL WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL MEDIA OUTLET FOR POSSIBLE WARNINGS AND FURTHER UPDATES THIS EVENING. CACCIAPAGLIA $
The office that day
Everything else NWS Blacksburg, VA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 16, 8:28 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Alleghany, Wilkes | 32 min |
| Aug 16, 8:59 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Alleghany | 16 min |
| Aug 16, 9:26 PM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Alexander | 34 min |
| Aug 17, 12:03 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Iredell | 27 min |
| Aug 17, 12:59 AM EDT | Tornado Warning | RNK | Iredell | 16 min |
| Aug 17, 1:04 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | RNK | Iredell | 3 hr |
| Aug 17, 3:01 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | RNK | Alleghany | 3 hr |
| Aug 17, 3:19 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | RNK | Wilkes | 3 hr |
| Aug 17, 6:00 AM EDT | Flash Flood Warning | RNK | Alleghany, Wilkes | 3 hr |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in North Carolina, 1994Every tornado warning in 1994Tornadoes in 1994
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.